Method for forming dual damascene structures

1. A method for forming a recess in a substrate representing a semiconductor interconnect via and trough pattern, comprising: forming a layer of etchable material; removing a portion of said etchable material to form a via; forming a protective layer within and along the bottom of said via, said protective layer protecting said bottom of said via from debris; removing a portion of said etchable material to form a trough transverse to and intersecting an upper portion of said via; and removing from said via said protective layer and said debris.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said protective layer is a non-photoreactive material.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said protective layer is selected from the group consisting of anti-reflective coatings and negative photoresists.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said protective layer is an organic anti-reflective coating and said step of removing said layer comprises an oxide plasma etch.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said layer of etchable material is an electrically insulative material and is formed on an underlying electrically conductive material.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of removing a portion of said etchable material to form a via exposes at least a portion of said electrically conductive material.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of forming a protective layer within said via comprises the further step of forming said protective layer upon said exposed portion of said electrically conductive material.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of forming a protective layer within said via further comprises the step of forming a coating of said protective layer on said etchable material adjacent to said via.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the thickness of said coating is less than the thickness of said protective layer in said via.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of removing a portion of said etchable material to form a trough further comprises the step of applying an etch which etches said etchable material at a rate faster than the rate with which said etch etches said protective layer.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of planarizing said layer of etchable material before the step of forming a protective layer within said via.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of filling the recess at least partially with an electrically conductive material.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said step of filling the recess provides for an overfilling of the conductive material to extend over said layer of etchable material.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of planarizing at least a portion of said conductive material which has overflowed said layer of etchable material.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said layer of etchable material is an oxide.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the process steps are repeated through a plurality of layers of etchable materials to form a multi-level integrated circuit.

17. A method for forming a contact to a semiconductor device feature, comprising the steps of: forming a dielectric layer over a feature to be contacted; forming a first layer of photoresist over said dielectric layer; patterning said first layer of photoresist and etching said dielectric layer to form a via through said dielectric to outwardly expose a contact surface of said device feature; forming a layer of non-photoreactive material within and along the bottom of said via and atop said outwardly exposed contact surface of said device feature, said non-photoreactive material protecting said bottom of said via from debris; forming a second layer of photoresist over said dielectric layer and non-photoreactive material; patterning said second layer of photoresist and etching said dielectric layer to form a trough intersecting the upper portion of said via; removing from said via said non-photoreactive layer and photoresist, and said debris; forming a conductive layer within said via and trough and in contact with said outwardly exposed contact surface of said device feature.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said non-photoreactive layer is an anti-reflective coating material.

19. T he method of claim 17 wherein said non-photoreactive layer is a negative photoresist.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said step of forming a protective layer atop said outwardly exposed surface does not completely fill said via.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of removing said non-photoreactive layer comprises applying an oxide plasma which removes said layer and at least a portion of any said debris which results from said step of etching to form said trough.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of etching said dielectric layer to form a trough comprises applying a selective etch which does not completely remove said non-photoreactive layer.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein said second layer of photoresist is a positive photoresist and said non-photoreactive layer is a negative photoresist.

24. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of planarizing said conductive layer.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the steps are repeated through at least two dielectric layers to form a multilevel contact to one or more semiconductor device features.

26. A method for forming a semiconductor via contact and trough interconnect to an underlying substrate, comprising: forming a first layer of electrically insulative material on an electrically conductive material of an underlying substrate; etching a portion of said insulative material to form a via and outwardly exposing a portion of said electrically conductive material; forming a protective coating within and along the bottom of said via and atop said exposed portion of electrically conductive material, said coating protecting said bottom of said via from debris; applying a selective etch to remove a portion of said etchable material to form a trough transverse to and intersecting an upper portion of said via and removing a portion of said protective coating; removing from said via the remaining portion of said protective coating and photoresist, and said debris; and applying a conductive material to fill said via and trough.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said protective coating is an anti-reflective coating.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of removing the remaining portion of said protective coating comprises applying an oxide plasma.

29. The method of claim 26 comprising the further step of planarizing said conductive material in said via and trough.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the process steps are repeated to form multi-level interconnects in a multi-level integrated circuit.